A man standing against a white wall with his shadow projected behind him. The image has a glitch effect and yellow text overlay at the bottom.

Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2025

The Lost Priest

“An extremely human story that I find is beautifully open-ended.”

“Deeply personal and brilliantly acted.”

“A beautiful recount of a deeply intimate story that we could all stand to lend an ear to.”

“An eye opening insight into what it means to be Jewish today.”

“resonated a deep emotion of an individual growing.”

“The meaning and essence was so clear and beautifully spoken.”

The Lost Priest is a deeply introspective and poetic one-person play written and performed by Gabe Seplow. It follows the contemplative journey of the titled role, Lost Priest, who navigates themes of faith, identity, memory, and cultural inheritance. Rooted in Jewish traditions and rituals, the play delves into the protagonist's conflicted relationship with their heritage, examining moments of pride, doubt, and discovery.

Through fragmented reflections, the Lost Priest grapples with familial history, the weight of antisemitism, and the search for meaning in religious rituals that once felt familiar but now seem distant. Symbolic actions, such as the lighting of a Shabbat candle, the motions of a Bar Mitzvah, and references to historical and religious texts, punctuate the narrative.

These elements underscore the tension between tradition and modernity, belonging and estrangement. As the Lost Priest revisits ancestral stories—some joyful, others marked by loss—the play becomes a meditation on the complexities of identity and the universal longing for connection. Ultimately, The Lost Priest invites audiences to witness a raw, vulnerable exploration of self, culminating in a powerful affirmation of resilience and cultural pride amid uncertainty.